No One Loves Me (GL) - Chapter 17

Xin Geling skewered the meat pieces and neatly arranged them in a bowl. She then took an insulated foam box, placed a layer of ice inside, and carefully arranged the skewers.

After filling a few large boxes, Xin Geling carried them one by one to the food stall downstairs.

She looked at the time. It was about four in the afternoon. She decided to set up her stall a little early and pre-grill some of the meat. This way, when customers came to order, she could shorten the waiting time.

Lin Huilan helped her by unwrapping the sausages and making a few cuts on them.

Xin Geling started to grill the meat. After grilling about a hundred skewers, it was almost five o’clock, and customers started to come by.

She skillfully took the skewers and heated them again. Her speed was much faster now.

By a little after eight, more and more people had gathered in front of their stall. Xin Geling kept grilling, and the noise of the crowd and the sizzling of the meat drowned out Lin Huilan’s coughing.

Xin Geling didn’t notice until Lin Huilan suddenly collapsed.

“What’s wrong? Why did she fall?”

“Did someone fall?”

“Is she okay?”

“Should we call 120?”

Customers and passersby gathered around, talking and trying to see what was happening.

“Mom!” Xin Geling dropped the skewers in her hand, her eyes filled with panic. She rushed to her mother and pushed her shoulder.

There was no response.

“You should hurry and take your mom to the hospital! I’ll watch your stall for you.”

At that moment, a girl selling sushi nearby stood up and motioned for her to hurry and take her mother to the hospital.

“Thank you,” Xin Geling said. She immediately turned off the fire, picked up Lin Huilan, and ran into the street. She quickly hailed a taxi. “Sir, to the hospital!”

Only a crowd of people watching the car leave was left on the food street. They soon dispersed.

At the hospital, Xin Geling ran in, still carrying Lin Huilan. “Doctor, please save my mom!”

After a few anxious hours of waiting and watching the doctors and nurses rushing around, Xin Geling stood stiffly outside the door.

“What did you give her to eat?” the doctor asked.

“She had pork hock soup, stir-fried beef with green peppers, and scrambled eggs with leeks for lunch,” Xin Geling said.

The doctor sniffed the air around her. “Did you give her barbecue to eat?”

Xin Geling’s face was solemn. “She had some last night.”

“The patient has bronchitis, and she can’t eat barbecue,” the doctor said. “Also, she can’t be exposed to dusty environments like a barbecue stall because the chili powder and seasoning can be inhaled into the nasal cavity and cause inflammation.”

“The patient just had trouble breathing and a fever. It was caused by inhaling all that chili powder.”

Xin Geling’s fingertips went cold. All she could think about was her mother standing next to her, helping her, and she hadn’t even noticed her inhaling the chili powder.

After the doctor left, Xin Geling stood there for a long time, unable to recover.

“Sister.”

A familiar voice pulled Xin Geling’s attention away. She turned her head blankly and saw Xie Zhitang walking toward her.

“Sister, is your aunt okay?” Xie Zhitang asked, full of concern. She peered through the doorway and saw Lin Huilan lying motionless on the hospital bed.

She looked back at the guilty and self-blaming Xin Geling. “What happened to your aunt?”

“The doctor said her airways became inflamed from inhaling chili powder, which caused her to have trouble breathing…”

“This…” Xie Zhitang was stunned.

Xin Geling closed her eyes tightly. “It’s all my fault… If it wasn’t for me insisting on setting up a barbecue stall—”

Before she could finish, her waist felt a jolt. A warm and soft body hugged her tightly.

Xin Geling opened her eyes and looked down at the person in front of her. Her shiny black hair was a clear sight.

“Sister, this is not your fault. Don’t blame yourself too much.”

The arms around her waist tightened again, as if to give her strength.

Xin Geling seemed to have calmed down a little and said with difficulty, “Okay.”

Xie Zhitang pulled away from her. She gently patted Xin Geling’s back. “Your aunt will be okay.”

Xin Geling looked at her deeply, nodded softly, and said, “She’ll be okay.”

At 10 p.m., Lin Huilan’s inflammation had lessened, and she was out of danger. She was resting in the hospital bed.

Xin Geling’s heart finally settled. She smelled the barbecue on herself. She still had to clean up the food stall.

“I’m going to go back for a bit.”

“I’ll go with you,” Xie Zhitang said.

Xin Geling hesitated for a moment but still let her come along.

Xie Zhitang drove her back. When they got to the apartment building, Xin Geling didn’t go straight upstairs. Instead, she walked toward the food street.

Xie Zhitang understood. “You haven’t packed up yet, have you?”

“Mhm,” Xin Geling said.

Xie Zhitang followed her.

When they arrived at the food street, the road was empty, with only a few people left. Many of the shops nearby were already closed. Only a few were still getting ready to close for the night.

The girl selling sushi was waiting for her. “I didn’t think you were coming back tonight. I was just about to push your stall into my place.”

Xin Geling knew she was being kind, so her stall wouldn’t be stolen or left there all night. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” the girl said. “Is your mom okay?”

“She’s out of danger,” Xin Geling said. “She can’t inhale too much chili powder.”

The girl understood. “I see. Then your mom can’t help you sell barbecue anymore.”

“I won’t let her come with me to the stall again,” Xin Geling said. “Thank you for tonight.”

“You’re welcome,” the girl said, waving her hand. “I’m going back now.”

“Okay,” Xin Geling said.

After the girl left, Xin Geling walked to her food stall, intending to pack up everything and push it back home.

“Sister, let me help you.”

Xie Zhitang joined her, helping her move the boxes of unsold skewers to the bottom of the stall.

Xin Geling’s hands paused. She quietly watched the glamorous Xie Zhitang condescending to do this kind of work for her.

“Don’t help me,” Xin Geling said. For some reason, she was a little resistant to her helping her this way.

There were about ten skewers of meat on the grill that she hadn’t had time to cook. They were raw meat, and after being exposed to the air for so long, the quality had already changed.

Xie Zhitang looked up when she heard her words. She took a handful of the spoiled skewers from the grill, intending to throw them in the trash.

“Why?” she asked.

“It’s dirty,” Xin Geling said, seeing her fair hands covered in these grimy things. It was hard to imagine her not being disgusted.

Xie Zhitang threw them into a nearby trash can. “It’s not. All businesses are dirty. I’m not that delicate.”

Xin Geling couldn’t control her hands, so she just tried to do the work herself. After she had packed up, she went to the side of the stall, ready to push it back.

Xie Zhitang joined her and pushed the stall with her, standing next to her.

“…”

Xin Geling couldn’t ignore her presence. The faint scent of her perfume wafted over to her, always making her feel like she wasn’t doing menial work at the bottom of society, but rather working in a high-end office with air conditioning.

The wheels of the stall rolled over the road. She was so glamorous that she drew glances from the few pedestrians still around.